Barbara Yaffe: Canadian government needs to spend more money on tourism

Fewer of the high-spending international tourists are visiting Canada

TripAdvisor ranks Vancouver No. 1 in Canada, but Canada as a whole has been slipping in international rankings. Here, the glow of evening light shows off the North Shore Mountains behind the Burrard Bridge.

TripAdvisor spotlights no fewer than three B.C. cities — Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler — on its list of Canada’s top 10 beauty spots.

Sure, Calgary may be “a sophisticated city with pioneer charm;” Toronto, a sort of “New York City run by the Swiss;” and Montreal, a place of “old-fashioned elegance”.

But the influential website identifies Vancouver as Canada’s No. 1 travel destination: “Check out the Victorian architecture in Gastown, take a kayak out on English Bay or explore Stanley Park.”

Vancouver also is headquarters to the Canadian Tourism Commission, which this week released its 2012 report on the industry’s health. Tourism is worth $82.4 billion annually to Canada, $13.4 billion to B.C.

It’s more important to the province than either the fishery or forest industry. It employs 126,700 — down three per cent from 2008.

Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray believes the Harper government doesn’t fully appreciate the industry’s value. The Liberal critic for small business and tourism complains that Conservatives have committed policy blunders, one of which was to cut funding for the tourism commission by 23 per cent in the past two years.

Murray also points to the fact that Canada’s global ranking in terms of international tourism receipts over the past decade has dropped from 7th to 18th — at a time when global tourism has been booming.

International travellers are the most highly coveted because foreigners generally spend five times as much as domestic ones.

The MP has reason to be concerned. Her riding is in the Lower Mainland which, with adjacent coastal and mountain areas, accounts for more than half of B.C.’s tourism businesses and 63 per cent of related jobs.

So, what action could Ottawa take to boost tourism, in particular trips by big-spending foreign tourists?

Many would argue, at a time when other countries, especially the U.S., are boosting marketing budgets, Ottawa should reconsider cuts to Canada’s promotional agency.

It also would make sense to reintroduce the GST-rebate program for foreign travellers that was cut in 2007. Foreigners really shouldn’t be paying our domestic sales tax.

And Ottawa needs to address costly airline-related fees and taxes that have sent travellers across the border in search of cheaper fares. It’s no secret that Bellingham airport has become a hub for British Columbians wanting a better deal. The cost of flying in the U.S. is lower because the assortment of airline fees that are tacked on to fares in Canada, in the U.S. is fully covered by general tax revenues.

Tourist lobbies argue that any losses for Ottawa from lower fees would be offset by more robust tourism receipts.

In B.C., overall tourism earnings are up slightly year over year. But, the province, as with the rest of Canada, has sustained a drop in revenue from international visitors since 2001. The number of foreign visitors is down 20 per cent and they’re spending less.

Nearly 70 per cent of B.C.’s foreign visitors are Americans, mainly from Washington state and California, both of which have experienced tough times of late.

Hardest hit have been B.C.’s accommodation and transportation sectors.

The 2008 global recession, the SARS crisis and a higher Canadian dollar all have harmed the sector, according to a November 2012 report by Tourism B.C.

The report by the Canadian Tourism Commission, meanwhile, cites two big challenges — global economic volatility and the fact the marketplace has become “saturated with exotic destinations”.

TripAdvisor ranks Vancouver No. 1 in Canada, but Canada as a whole has been slipping in international rankings. Here, the glow of evening light shows off the North Shore Mountains behind the Burrard Bridge.

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